It's obvious that your dealer is lying to you. This topic has more posts on this and the XF forums than any other topic! The problem on the XF is even more severe than on the XK. But, it's no surprise, you didn't really believe that Jaguar would come to your aid, did you? The repair will be easy except for the removal and replacement of the dash. Maybe you could get the dealer to do that, even for a reasonably small fee, then take it to any "trimmer" or upholsterer as we call them, and have it back very quickly.
Good luck.

 

tberg. You are spot on!

I was helping another forum member buy a XKR. So I went to my friend and exotic car dealer. He is a 4 man operation, one of them is a detailer the other is an upholsterer. You get the picture.

While I was in the shop, they were working on a XF fixing the dash. what are the odds!!

So I asked him, and he said, if its a black dash, if it hasnt done it yet it soon will. They replace all of them anyway. Its very simple and yes going through the windshield has the added benefit of getting a new windshield- as opposed to half a dash went you put it back. Plus you keep the job within everyone's core-competency. There is no possibility of further error.

 

I wonder if there is some preventative maintenance that would eliminate this problem? A leather conditioner of some sort?

 

Yes there is. Folks in UK hardly ever have this problem.
Maintain proper heat and humidity in the car.
The same conditions leather is stored in.
Avoid conditioners. The leather is already sealed with a breathable clearcoat. The only thing you can add to it that wont evaporate is oil- oil prevents the leather from absorbing moisture.

 

chazaroo,
The only preventative maintenance that can keep this from happening is to move to a city where the sun rarely shines, the temperature rarely breaks out of the 70's, and where you have a garage where your car will live most of its life, only coming out on cloudy, cool days, in other words, London. Vero Beach doesn't exactly fit that description. Jaguar foolishly believed that adhesive, ALONE(!), would keep leather stretched and flat on the foam on the dash, that is an impossibility. The fact that the leather was not anchored with staples and wrapped under the lip of the dash is ridiculous. If it hasn't happened to your dash yet, you're lucky. But don't be surprised. Conditioner will keep the leather pliable, but it will do nothing to keep the adhesive from losing its grip.

 

Liberal use of a conditioner does help moderate the leather shrinking

 

I am afraid I might end up with one palm larger than the other

 

No I didn't expect them to "come to my aid" As I said in my last post "...As I thought Jaguar Australia have declined to assist...."

What surprised me is that Jaguar actually contacted me and got me to take the car into the local Dealer for a report, so creating a false expectation of some sort of support - leading to greater disappointment.

Ill look for the right trimmer who can do the job without taking the dash out hopefully

 

I have a 2007 XK coupe (slate exterior, charcoal/charcoal interior) which developed severe "bubbles" running parallel to the windshield on both sides of the speaker grill. Jaguar disavowed any knowledge of this issue, "must have been parked in the sun". My understanding is that 06-09 had glue issues, plus non-preshrunk leather, plus a too-small 1/4" tuck around the edges of the dash itself. Starting in 2010, Jaguar increased the size of the tuck, started using staples as well, and switched glues ... far, far fewer problems.

My buckles got to 2-3" wide, almost an inch high on both sides, so I bit the bullet and mentally committed to buying a new dashboard from Jaguar out of state ($2800-3800) and having a local shop do the uninstall and new install ($900). Dealer wants $5,200 for the job.

So I went to the local shop for a firm price ... he offered to pull the dash, remove the original leather, sew up a new covering from matching pre-shrunk leather, same stitching, same pattern, install with staples, use a large tuck, and put it all back together again, with no pieces left over. Total cost: about 1/3 what Jaguar wants.

So I did it - picked the car up today, it's gorgeous, leather matches, seams match, stitching is the right color - and I saved well over $3,000.00 ...

Rich & Famous Upholstery, Van Nuys, CA - ask for John, he's done a dozen Jags, same problem. I'm one happy Jaguar owner again ...!

 

LA_Bob
You're in my neck of the woods, and before I had mine fixed I had arranged with an auto upholstery shop on Burbank near Caheunga to do the job complete with new leather for $1300 if I brought them the dash. When we pulled the dash it was so easy to restretch, repair, and staple the original leather that my own upholsterer did it in a couple of hours for free! I'm glad, however, that you got it done for a reasonable price at a local (really close to me) shop. The information on the change in 2010, though, is not correct, as mine and many other 2010+ owners have had the same issue. The replacement dashes are still NOT STAPLED to this day. And the problem is at least as bad on XF models as well. Several of us locals get together periodically, you ought to join us some time.

 

Thanks for the feedback - I understood from a UK board and from the Galpin Hollywood Service Rep (before I learned how they do business...!) that the fixes were implemented on 2010 model year vehicles ... when I was searching for the best price on a new dash from out-of-state Jag dealers, two parts guys (a) knew of the problems and (b) assured me that the part I was ordering was post-2010 and therefore stapled and properly glued. That's the extent of my direct knowledge ...

Bottom line: those of us with affected Jaguars may have to endure the manufacturer's lack of support, but we sure don't have to pay their price to address the issues. John solved it for me, properly, at a very good price, and did an excellent job ... I'm one pleased customer.

I would enjoy meeting fellow Los Angeles owners - when and where do you get together ...?

 

La_Bob,
Sometimes at Supercar Sundays at Woodland Hills Promenade, sometimes at other gatherings. Last weekend, I met Vic with his F-type at a small Ferrari sponsored event in Thousand Oaks that ended rather quickly, so a group of us took a spirited little jaunt through Decker Canyon to PCH and ate lunch at Neptune's Net in Malibu. Ralphwg, (XKR convertible) talk and see each other regularly. And of course, most of us show up at the Queen's All English Car Show every spring at Woodley Park. I'll p.m. you next time we get together.

 

I had a brand new Jaguar supplied dash installed in mine in 2016. I believe the manufacture date was 2012 and unfortunately the design looked identical to my 2007 manufacturered dash. The dash was also not the only part of the upholstery that "fell" apart in 2016. The leather door panels and all of the Alston suede pillar covers and headliner spontaneously self destructed at the same time. The car has lowish use and has never been left outside or in the sun other than occasional
Parking lots. But it is a Florida car and I suspect that some heat combined with high humidity was the culprit.

I'll also add this is not an issue unique to Jaguar. My former 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland Summit with brown leather dash came apart at the windshield after about 2 years and low mileage. A friend's 3 year old Bentley GTC did the same after about 6000 miles and a Kia K900 loaner car with leather dash was coming apart around the airbag.

 

This reminds me of what a friend said of motorcyclists: there are two kinds-- those who've been in an accident and those who haven't been in an accident - YET.

The dash on my 2010 is still good, but I know it's an "when-not-if" situation. And thanks to the LA members for the referrals for interior work! I know I'll be there someday...

In the meantime, there are only two solutions: keep it in a garage, and this:

 

I was of the opinion that the cause of the adhesive letting go was the leather shrinking. If that's the case, keeping the leather from shrinking should solve the problem. If the cause is heat and humidity degrading the adhesive, then the problem will continue regardless of leather conditioning.

 

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I've spent the last three years looking online at thousands of XK/XKR's for sale in the US and have looked at a good number in Europe as well. Having looked at so many of these fine cars, I have some observations about this dash problem.
1) While a high proportion of US cars suffer from the dash issue, cars in the UK do not generally suffer from this problem, indicating that climate (heat, humidity, and sunlight) is the cause of the weakening of the adhesive and/or stretching of the leather. Of course, poor design is to blame for the interior's inability to cope with climate extremes.
2) The problem affects more early cars, but 2010-2011 models do still suffer, especially from warmer climates.
3) The color of the dash makes a huge difference. Proportionally more charcoal (black) dashes have the problem than the slate (blue/gray) and you see very few of the caramel (tan) interiors with this problem. This indicates light/heat as being especially harmful on the darker colors.
4) Using the official Jaguar sunshade is highly advisable, as pk4144 and others have mentioned. It is thick with an insulated core and fits very nicely to provide maximum protection from the heat and rays of the sun. I use my sunshade anytime I am parked outside.
I bought my '07 XK (my first Jaguar) several months ago with 20k miles. Midnight metallic paint with caramel interior.

 

winstonsalemncxk,
You are undoubtedly correct regarding heat and/or humidity affecting the problem, but your most noteworthy comment is regarding the "poor design is to blame." As I previously stated, it's been more than 3 years since I repaired my dash by restretching the existing leather, anchoring by stapling at the windshield edge and around the center speaker, and respraying new adhesive. I live in the warmest part of Los Angeles County where frequently the temperatures hover between 90-110F (112F on Tuesday) for six months of the year, my car has never been garaged during that time nor has it had a sun shade, and it is still perfect!! An extra 3 minutes on the assembly line and maybe 3 cents' worth of staples would have kept this from happening anywhere in any climate. And it's even worse on the XF model.

 

I have never understood why Americans opt for black interiors.
It makes the least sense in this country, on multiple levels.
Most places summers are warm enough to make your skin fuse to the leather, even just driving on the interstate requires more cooling because your black interior is being heated by the sun.
What am I missing?

 

I'm a big fan of sunshades with using them in both the Jag and my other daily driver. Not only protects against UV damage, but, the interior is much cooler when temps reach into the 90s.

 

As far as common sense goes, you're not missing a thing. I'm a yank, and I'll never buy a black interior car.
Test drove another model/brand of car a few weeks ago, just so my wife could experience it, and she loved the black interior. I didn't outright call her nuts, but asked her why?
She said she thought it was elegant, like riding in a limo. She wasn't born in this country, and has never owned a black interior car herself. I just said, no black interior car, without calling her nuts.